This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, click the "Reprints" link at the bottom of any article.

June 7, 2013

Millionaires’ Biggest Financial Regret

Not developing a financial plan earlier in life took top spot in new study

Regrets, they’ve had a few.

The deVere Group, which claims to be the world’s largest independent financial advisory organization, asked a sample of its clients in Europe (including the United Kingdom), Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the United States with investable assets of more than $1 million about their No. 1 financial regret.

The second-biggest financial regret was not consistently scrutinizing personal investments (18%); third was taking on too much unnecessary debt (13%).

The firm adds that 12% cited other regrets, including not saving enough to fund their children’s or grandchildren’s education or not having built a large enough estate to leave to their heirs.

“The poll shows that the No. 1 regret of high-net-worth individuals was not putting in place a robust plan for their personal finances which could be efficiently and regularly reviewed,” Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of the deVere Group, said in a statement.

“With more than half of those surveyed citing this as their overriding regret, it’s clear that wealthy individuals value highly the benefits and opportunities that long-term financial planning brings them and their families, and that they understand the importance of routinely reviewing those plans to ensure that they always remain ‘on track’ to reach their financial goals.”

Green concluded that although the survey focuses on high-net-worth individuals, he suspects the same poll of middle-income earners would produce similar results.

“As someone’s wealth empowers them and their families to live the life they want to live,” he said, “I imagine that any financial regrets would be fairly consistent.”

Sign up now—it's Free!

Sponsor Showcase

ThinkAdvisor's TechCenter is an educational resource designed to give you a competitive edge by keeping you abreast of new tech innovations and need-to-know information that can be applied to your business.

Featured Video

At Prudential Advisors, we're dedicated to helping all our clients get on the path to achieve their goals."Prudential Advisors" is a brand name of the Prudential Life Insurance Company of America and its subsidiaries